The History Of Pinball Machines | Worldwide Pinball Machine Delivery From BMI Gaming "Virtual Pinball", TAB Austria, 2002 "UltraPin" Digital Pinball, Global VR, 2006 Pinball has now become a "in" item with high-profile celebrities, baby boomers, business exec's & families, and has become a fixture on many TV shows and commercials, movie sets and many magazine shoots, perhaps due to the "nostalgia factor" and the advent of personal home game rooms, or realization that a individual can now easily purchase a pinball machine, or the fact that playing a few good games of pinball after a hard day's work can be a tremendous stress-reliever! Coke commercial with David Arquette shown playing one of three classic pinballs in his actual home collection in the foreground. Iy 2002, the industry was left with just one major designer and manufacturer, Stern Pinball, based in the Chicagoland area and run by Gary Stern, the son of Stern Electronics' founder Sam Stern. Stern has released quite a few interesting and collectable titles over the past few years, and hopefully will continue on in the tradition of great firms like Williams and Bally on future releases.

"Iron Man", Stern Pinball, 2010 Stern Pinball's ratio of "home sales" to commercial sales has risen from practically zero to an estimated 35% - 60% of their total sales in just the last 3 years, which is an encouraging new market for them to sell into in the coming years as operator and commercial account orders continue to dwindle. There have been some rumblings of other firms within the coin-op industry having aspirations of jumping into the pinball machine game, but nothing seriously has been reported or announced to date. It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for pinball over the course of the next century... However, in late 2008, Stern announced, for the first time in its history, a major layoff of many in-house pinball designers, engineers and technical staff, due to declining sales because of the current economic climate, which questions the future of Stern Pinball, and new pinball machines in doubt - So it you want to purchase a new pinball machine, buy one as soon as possible, because we predict that if Stern actually goes out of business, the price of all remaining pinball machines will skyrocket after the economy improves.

As for the state of used or "pre-owned" machines, supplies are very tight and getting tighter, with ASP (average selling price) of good quality of pre-owned pinball machine of popular titles from the late 80's to 90's now appreciating at a rate of 10% - 25 % or more per year, even in this economic climate, as more and more individuals discover (or re-discover) the pleasures of pinball ownership and supplies dry up. Just a few years ago, America had all the machines it ever needed to meet domestic supply; but now it is estimated that over 70% of all preowned pinball machines now sold in the US come from overseas sources in countries such as Western Europe and Latin America, due to the increasingly high demand from Americans, even now in this depression-like economic climate. But in 2013-2015, new pinball developers are now starting to enter into the pinball machine "arena" and challenge the "old guard" maker Stern Pinball.

with new and very exciting innovations, from embedded LCD Monitors and Backboards to multi-colored LED playfield lighting, and one of the most promising new players to hit the scene this year (with products) is Jersey Jack Pinball, with the introduction of their radically designed "new-age" pinball machine called "Wizard Of OZ" "Wizard Of Oz - Emerald City Edition", Jersey Jack Pinball, 2013 What will this decade hold for pinball machine development? Stay tuned and find out..! Surprising Pinball Machine Fact : Did you know that it was illegal to own a pinball machine in New York and in many other states at one point in time? Pinball machines were officially banned in New York in 1942 until the late 1970's, because the city administration viewed the game as a "game of luck" rather than a "game of skill"... Mayor La Guardia was quoted before the ban saying he believed the machines "robbed the pockets of schoolchildren in the form of nickels and dimes given them as lunch money".

Given his statement, it came as no shock when a pinball machine "ban" was carried out in dramatic fashion in New York - In 1942, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia started executing a massive prohibition-style raid across the city by issuing an ultimatum to the NYPD that their "top priority" would be to round up all the pinball machines in the city and arrest their owners - The raid resulted in thousands of machines being confisticated, then smashed with sledgehammers by the Mayor and the NYPD before being dramatically dumped into the city's rivers. But pinball in New York City did not disappear - it simply moved to low-key locations in "sketchy" areas.. From the Las Vegas Mercury Newspaper, Thursday, March 28, 2002 - "In their earliest incarnations, some pin games (so named for the pins that dotted the playfield, guiding the ball into holes with point values) such as Bally's 1933 Rocket offered cash payouts to the player if he landed the ball in certain holes. It wasn't unusual to see such games taking their place next to conventional slot machines.

The advent of payout machines, versus nonpaying "novelty" machines manufactured by many of the same companies, raised some sticky questions about this new form of entertainment: Was pinball a game of skill or luck? The answer would mean the difference between a harmless game and a form of gambling- even if the "payout" was a free game. Some states decided the latter and banned pinball machines. In January 1942, for instance, New York Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia banned pinball as a form of gambling, smashing several machines in a publicity stunt. Also, the passage of the Johnson Act in 1950 outlawed interstate shipping of certain types of pinball machines, as they were deemed gambling devices. Pinball manufacturers such as Williams and Gottlieb responded by mounting a campaign of their own under the aegis of the Coin Machine Institute; these pinball makers eliminated payout machines and sought to show that pinball was a wholesome pastime that had no connection to gambling--especially with the advent of flippers in 1947, which turned pinball, more than ever, into a game of skill.

Still, the ban in New York lasted until 1976; free games in the form of awarded replays are still illegal in New York and in other cities, though the laws are rarely enforced." Modern Pinball History Timeline The first commercially successful pinball machine, " Baffle Ball " is introduced by Gottlieb. 1933 - The first mechanical "tilt" mechanism is introduced by Gottlieb in " Broker's Tip ", and the very first electrical tilt mechanism is introduced by ABT Manufacturing in " Autocount ". 1936 - The first "bumpers" in a pinball machine are introduced by Bally in " Bumper ". 1947 - The first pinball machine to to use ball "flippers" is seen in " Humpty Dumpty " by Gottlieb. 1948 - The first use of "active" or rebounding bumpers is introduced by Williams in " Rainbow ". 1951 - The first playfield "slingshot" kickers (mostly triangular shaped in modern games) were introduced with the " Double Feature " pinball machine made by Gottlieb 1953 - The first two-player pinball machine is released.

(pinball machines before this were strictly one player affairs) and the first use of "score wheels" (" Army Navy " - Williams) and also the first use of "ramps" on playfields (" Nine Sisters " from Williams Mfg.) 1954 - The first multiple player pinball machine, " Super Jumbo ", is released by D. Gottlieb. 1956 - The first "multiball" feature is featured on Bally's " Balls-A-Poppin " pinball machine. 1957 - The first use of a "match" bonus feature (a number in your final score is matched at random to a number the machine picks, resulting in a free game, or "credit") in pinball is introduced. 1960 - The first moving target in pinball is introduced with the " Magic Clock " from Williams. The first "add-a-ball" (extra ball) game called " Flipper " is developed by D. Gottlieb.

The add-a-ball award was developed to counter various laws in effect during this period that made it illegal for a game to award replays in certain parts of the country because it was consider a "gambling" activity, especially in New York City 1962 - The first "drop targets" were introduced by Williams Manufacturing in " Vagabond ". 1963 - The first "spinners" on a pinball playfield are introduced. 1964 - The first "mushroom" bumper (common in all of today's modern games) was introduced by Bally. 1966 - The first digital scoring pinball machine, " Rally Girl " is produced by a French company called Rally, using " Nixie Tube " (cold-cathode) glowing display tubes. 1968 - The first modern flippers (3 inches) are introduced on " Hayburners II " by Williams. 1975 - The first solid-state, or electronic pinball machine, " Spirit of 76 ", was first introduced by Micro Games. It marks the beginning of the switch from electromechanical ( EM ) machines to electronic (or "solid-state") pinball machines.

And the first pinball to be based on a licensed movie "theme", " Wizard ! ", is introduced by Bally. The Magnificent Marble Machine, the largest non-commercial pinball machine ever made (20' high x 12' long) was introduced on a NBC TV show of the same name. 1976 - The first widely available "solid state" pinball machine was introduced by Bally and is called "Freedom". Many of the games from the mid 70's were produced in two separate versions (both electronic and electromechanical), including Freedom. The first "wide-body" pinball, " The Atarians " is introduced by Atari. Also in this year, the long-time pinball machine manufacturer Chicago Coin makes its very last game, and Chicago Coin is taken over by Sam Stern (father of Gary Stern), and renamed "Stern Electronics" (now Stern Pinball ). Also, Gottlieb is sold to Colombia Pictures. 1977 - The first electronically produced sounds in a pinball machine were introduced, and the first photographic / "3D" backglass display is introduced by Bally on " Lost World ".

1979 - The first "talking" or electronic speech game, which included 7 words, was introduced by Williams and was called " Gorgar ", along with the first pinball machines to have a continuous electronic background "soundtracks". This was also the year in which the very last electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machine was made by Gottlieb. And finally, the largest commercially-produced pinball machine, " Hercules " is introduced by Atari 1980 - The first "multi-level" pinball machine, along with the first "magna-save" player-controlled ball magnet feature is introduced by Williams in " Black Knight ", along with the first "lane advance" feature introduced in " Firepower ", also by Williams Manufacturing. 1982 - The first combination of a mechanical pinball machine with a video arcade game is introduced in a hybrid pinball machine game called " Caveman " by Gottlieb. 1984 - Colombia Pictures, owner of D. Gottlieb, decides to close the firm. The company is then taken over by Premier Technology, but the Gottlieb name remains alive.

1985 - The first "alphanumeric" digital pinball machine scoring display is introduced by Gottlieb in the " Chicago Cubs Triple Play " pinball machine 1986 - The first automatic replay percentage feature, along with the first use of a commercial soundtrack and songs, and the first "jackpot" to carryover between games is introduced in " High Speed " by Williams. Also, the first pinball machine to use an actual photograph duplicated on the pinball backglass is introduced with " Raven " by Premier Technology 1987 - The first pinball machine with digital stereo sound (" Laser War ") is introduced by Data- East, and the first automatic ball-save feature is seen in " F-14 Tomcat " by Williams. 1988 - Bally Manufacturing is taken over by Williams Electronics, but the two companies continue to produce separate lines of pinball machines under both names. Also in this year, the first pinball machine with a video scoring display monitor is seen in the " Dakar " pinball machine made by Mr. Game, a firm based in Bologna, Italy.

1989 - The first "wizard" (or expert) mode is introduced in " Black Knight 2000 " by Williams 1990 - The first solid-state (electronic) flippers are introduced by Data-East. 1991 - The first "dot-matrix" scoring display is introduced by Data-East in " Checkpoint " along with video "modes" that animate certain parts of the game part on screen. Also in the year, electronic plungers become common and the "ball-saver" feature is introduced, in part due to laws in the UK (England) governing games of chance. 1993 - The first use of a ceramic, or non-magnetic pinball, called the " Powerball " is first introduced in the " Twilight Zone " pinball machine from Bally Manufacturing. Also in this year, the first player-controlled "mini playfield" is seen in "Indiana Jones". 1994 - Sega buys out Data-East and is renamed "Sega Pinball". 1996 - Gottlieb (Premier Technology) goes out of business for good.

1998 - The first pinball machine with a video screen integrated into the playfield design is introduced by Williams in their new " Pinball 2000 " series pinball machines. 1999 - After just two Pinball 2000 releases, Williams Manufacturing (WMS) exits the pinball machine business for good, but continues on as a maker of gaming devices for the global gambling industry. Also in this year, Gary Stern buys Sega Pinball, renames the combined firms as Stern Pinball and continues on as the only large scale commercial pinball producer in the world in for most of the new decade. 2002 - A prototype of the first truly digital pinball machine, "Virtual Pinball" is introduced at the 2002 IAAPA Amusement Show in Orlando by TAB Austria, and comes with a a flat panel monitor replicating the playfield and housed in a non-standard cabinet.

2006 - The first digital video pinball machine that replicates the look, play and feel of a traditional pinball machine on a flat screen monitor that replaces the traditional playfield called " UltraPin ", is introduced by UltraCade (GlobalVR), and features 12 digitally re-created classic pinball machine playfields from Funhouse, Eight Ball, Pin-Bot, Medieval Madness, Black Knight 2000, Attack from Mars, F-14 Tomcat, Fathom, Firepower, Strikes and Spares, Sorcerer and Xenon, all in one unit. 2013 - The first "new age" pinball machine that replaces the static "backboard" or marquee of a pinball machine with a LCD Monitor and also introduced full, multi-colored LED lighting throughout the entire playfield along with other innovative pinball machine enchantments is introduced by Jersey Jack Pinball, and called the "Wizard Of Oz". 11 Things You Didn't Know About Pinball History 11 Things You Didn't Know About Pinball History The surprising history behind a beloved American pastime. The surprising history behind a beloved American pastime. More 1. Pinball Was Illegal 1.

Pinball Was Illegal Pinball was banned from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s in most of America's big cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, where the game was born and where virtually all of its manufacturers have historically been located. The stated reason for the bans: Pinball was a game of chance, not skill, and so it was a form of gambling. To be fair, pinball really did involve a lot less skill in the early years of the game, largely because the flipper wasn't invented until 1947, five years after most of the bans were implemented. Up until then, players would bump and tilt the machines in order to sway the ball's gravity. Many lawmakers also believed pinball to be a mafia-run racket and a time- and dime-waster for impressionable youth. (The machines robbed the "pockets of schoolchildren in the form of nickels and dimes given them as lunch money," New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia wrote in a Supreme Court affidavit.) 01 Of 11 2. NYPD Held Prohibition-Style Raids on Pinball 2.

NYPD Held Prohibition-Style Raids on Pinball In New York, the pinball ban was executed in a particularly dramatic fashion. Just weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia issued an ultimatum to the city's police force stating that their top priority would be to round up pinball machines and arrest their owners. La Guardia proceeded to spearhead massive Prohibition-style raids in which thousands of machines were rounded up in a matter of days, before being dramatically smashed with sledgehammers by the mayor and police commissioner. The machines were then dumped into the city's rivers. 1 Of 11 1. Pinball Was Illegal Pinball was banned from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s in most of America's big cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, where the game was born and where virtually all of its manufacturers have historically been located. The stated reason for the bans: Pinball was a game of chance, not skill, and so it was a form of gambling.

To be fair, pinball really did involve a lot less skill in the early years of the game, largely because the flipper wasn't invented until 1947, five years after most of the bans were implemented. Up until then, players would bump and tilt the machines in order to sway the ball's gravity. Many lawmakers also believed pinball to be a mafia-run racket and a time- and dime-waster for impressionable youth. (The machines robbed the "pockets of schoolchildren in the form of nickels and dimes given them as lunch money," New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia wrote in a Supreme Court affidavit.) 2 Of 11 2. NYPD Held Prohibition-Style Raids on Pinball In New York, the pinball ban was executed in a particularly dramatic fashion. Just weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia issued an ultimatum to the city's police force stating that their top priority would be to round up pinball machines and arrest their owners.

La Guardia proceeded to spearhead massive Prohibition-style raids in which thousands of machines were rounded up in a matter of days, before being dramatically smashed with sledgehammers by the mayor and police commissioner. The machines were then dumped into the city's rivers. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 3 Of 11 3. Pinball Went Into Hiding Although pinball was illegal in New York, it did not disappear entirely — it just moved behind curtains to seedy pornography shops, in places like Harlem and Greenwich Village. And the police were still raiding illegal pinball operators through the 1970s. 4 Of 11 4. Pinball Production Changed During the War During World War II, much of America's manufacturing infrastructure switched over to the war effort. The pinball industry, which was a major user of copper wiring, was no exception. During the war, few new games were made. Instead, pinball suppliers began selling so-called conversion kits, which would allow pinball operators to transform a machine's artwork to a fresh theme. These conversion themes often took the form of wartime motifs, such as the patriotic "Victory in the Pacific." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 5 Of 11 5.

Pinball Is a Symbol of Rebellion in Hollywood Because pinball was illegal for so long, it became a symbol of youth and rebellion. If you watch a movie or TV show that was either produced or takes place during this period, virtually any time pinball makes an appearance, it is for the purpose of portraying to the audience that a particular character is a rebel. For example, the Fonz is regularly seen playing pinball in "Happy Days" episodes. And when "Tommy," The Who's pinball-wizard-themed rock opera album came out in 1972, pinball was still banned in much of the country. The album's use of pinball is largely misunderstood by today's audiences, who may view the deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard as quirky. In all likelihood, The Who was using the game to portray the titular character as anti-authoritarian. Filmmaker Richard Linklater makes use of this symbol in a significant number of his movies, with rebellious or outcast characters seen playing or talking about pinball in virtually every one. And in The Simpsons, Sideshow Bob once proclaimed, "Television has ruined more young minds than pinball and syphilis combined." 6 Of 11 6.

It Took a Babe Ruth-Like Move to Legalize Pinball in NYC In 1976, the New York City pinball ban was overturned. The coin-operated amusement lobby (which represented the pinball industry) eventually succeeded in earning a City Council hearing to re-examine the long-standing ban. Their strategy: prove that pinball was a game of skill, not chance, and thus should be legal. To do this, they decided to call in the best player they could find in order to demonstrate his pinball wizardry — a 26-year-old magazine editor named Roger Sharpe. Fearful that this hearing might be their only shot at overturning the ban, the industry brought in two machines, one to serve as a backup in case any problems arose with the primary machine. Suspicious that the pinballers had rigged the primary machine, one particularly antagonistic councilman told them that he wanted them to use the backup. This presented a problem: While Sharpe was intimately familiar with the first-choice game, he had never played the backup. As he played the game, surrounded by a huddle of journalists, cameras and councilmen, he did little to impress City Council's anti-pinball coalition.

So he made a final Hail Mary move that, to this day, he compares to Babe Ruth's famous called shot in center field. He pulled back the plunger to launch a new ball, pointed at the middle lane at the top of the playing field, and boldly stated that, based only on his skill, he would get the ball to land through that middle lane. He let go of the plunger and it did what he said. Almost on the spot, the City Council voted to overturn the ban. I recently asked Sharpe what he thought would have happened if he had missed the shot. After thinking about it for a few hours, he got back to me: "I'm not sure pinball would be legal today." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 7 Of 11 7. Pinball Has a Surprise Best-Seller The best-selling pinball machine of all time is still "The Addams Family," which came out in 1991. 8 Of 11 8. Pinball Is Still Illegal in Some Places Just a few years ago, Nashville, Tenn. overturned its ban on children under 18 playing, or even standing within 10 feet of, a pinball machine.

And, to this day, it is illegal to play pinball on Sundays in Ocean City, N.J. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 9 Of 11 9. Hugh Hefner Is a Huge Pinball Fanatic He collects pinball machines and has cooperated with pinball companies for at least three Playboy-themed pinball machines over the years. A former editor at Playboy told me that the magazine's editorial offices had a Fireball pinball machine in the '70s. 10 Of 11 10. There Was a Pinball-Video Game Hybrid In 1999, Williams Pinball was the largest pinball company in the world. But it was also part of a larger, publicly traded company that demanded higher profits than the games were producing. And so the bosses gave the pinball division one last chance to save the company — and its jobs. It was to create a new game that would bridge the gap between pinball and video games. The result was Pinball 2000, and it was a strange hybrid of the two types of games. Instead of relying on physical targets, the system projected holographic characters on the screen that would interact with the flying ball.

The new game was considered a modest success, and two Pinball 2000 games were produced. But it wasn't enough for Williams' parent company, which nonetheless pulled the plug on the entire pinball division. the history of pinball Ballyhoo Designed By Raymond T. Moloney Screen Book Magazine - Claudette Colbert (1932) The Beginning of the Coin-Operated Industry Coin-Operated Industry The coin-operated industry started in 1930 with the (first) Whiffle Board / Pinball invented by : Arthur L. Paulin with the second Whiffle Ball game invented by Arthur Paulin, which both Whiffle Baord and Whiffle Ball having great success and then later in 1931 with the mass production of both the Whiffle Board and the Ballyhoo Pinball. Here is some information on the first "pinball machine" which was invented in 1930 by Arthur Paulin and mass produced by him and by Automatic Industries known as the "Whiffle Board".

Here is the Whiffle Board story by the granddaughter of Arthur Paulin who was the inventor of the Whiffle Board and the original Whiffle Board is still with the family. From the voice of the Granddaughter Karen Hollerman Kettering of (Mr. Arthur Paulin, Whiffle Board Inventor of the Whiffle Board): The first Whiffle Board ever made was for my mother, Lois Paulin, as a little girl. My mother is still alive and is now 82 years old. We have kept it all these years. She gave me all Whiffle Board paper work and the story of the game. Our family has heard all of the different stories out there, and most are not true. We have stayed in the background and have never said or corrected any stories until now. The reason why we are speaking now is that my mother is getting up in years and she wants the true story to be told. I will attach a picture file of the Whiffle Board that I now own. Believe or not . . it still work great!!!

The very first Whiffle Board Arthur Paulin - Inventor Arthur Paulin and his daughter Lois Paulin 01.10.09 Here is the true story. I would love it if you could correct it on your web site. From: Granddaughter, Karen Hollerman Kettering of (Mr. Arthur Paulin, Whiffle Board Inventor of the Whiffle Board): THE TRUE STORY OF THE WHIFFLE BOARD GAME AKA PINBALL GAME Whiffle Board is the very first 'Pinball Machine'.

Photo: Original Whiffle Board Game (First Prototype: 1930) Arthur Paulin (Whiffle Ball Inventor) Photo: Original Whiffle Board Game (First Prototype: 1930) Arthur Paulin (Whiffle Board Inventor) (click on photo's for enlargement) Whiffle Board (front side) (click on photo's for enlargement) Whiffle Board (back side) (click on photo's for enlargement) Whiffle Board (back side indentations - soft nail dots) Arthur Paulin (Whiffle Board Inventor) Arthur Paulin a carpenter, was cleaning out his old barn Christmas time 1930, when he came across an old dusty board with carved out holes and about 30 nail in it. It looked as if it was about 50 years old. He looked at this board for a few days and played around with it until he came up with what we now know as the 'Whiffle Board'. It was during the Great Depression when Youngstown was in the midst of economic disaster due primarily to the closing of local steel mills.

Money was so tight for Arthur Paulin that he decided to make this board game up for his daughter Lois Paulin as a Christmas gift. Arthur Paulin (Photo: First Whiffle Board Invented) Arthur Paulin with Daughter, Lois Paulin His daughter loved it so much that she invited her friends to come over and play this fun board game. Well, next thing you know there was a line all the way around the house, kids waiting to play this board game! A neighbor of Paulin's came over and told him he thought he had something big here! Paulin took the board game to a friend of his, Myrl A. Park who operated a radio shop. Paulin asked Park, "If I make another one, could I sell it in your shop." Park was not optimistic about the idea. Park said, "You should put a coin device on it, let them pay to play." Paulin like that idea, and took the board game to another friend Earl W. Froom. Froom was an electrical salesman, he took the board game home and came up with a coin device for it! Paulin, Froom, and Park made a number of experiments with the board which they dubbed as "Old Jenny".

Finally they decided they had it perfected. Encased with a glass top, four legs, the board had a sloping playfield, a sliding panel to drop the balls in at the start of the game, and a spring plunger to shoot the balls. The idea was to put a nickel in the coin device and that would entitle you to ten (10) balls, nine (9) white marbles, plus a red one which counted double in points. You would "shoot" to one end of the board and then the balls rolled down the board again and were deflected into various holes by nails in the board. The three men put the board game in a local General Store to test it out. After one hour they counted the money from the coin device - $2.60! The men couldn't believe it! Paulin said, "Let's build ten of these." On January 28th, 1931 the three men went into partnership. Arthur Paulin was President, and was in charge of construction and manufacture with 1/3 partnership. Earl Froom was Vice President and in charge of sales also with 1/3 partnership.

Myrl Park came to assist Paulin and Froom with 1/6 partnership and another man William Howell who was in charge of all records (secretary) came in as 1/6 partnership. The company was born! They called it Automatic Industries. All four men signed a joint note for $300.00 at the Youngstown Bank, the proceeds of which will be the working capital to be expended for material and stock in trade of said company. (Documents with Paulin family) The men rented a second floor of a building. But soon grew out of it! They decided to rent a house, and again grew out of that. They were making so much money Froom said, "We've got to pinch ourselves every once in a while to figure out whether we are dreaming." The men decided to build there own building because the orders were coming in from everywhere. Automatic Industries was shipping these Whiffle Boards to every state in the union. They sold territory rights to dozens of people all over the country. Some of these people were the most prominent of men in the country. The company would book orders averaging 27,000 boards a year!

Within a few years, they had passed the $250,000 mark for contracted Whiffle Board games! At that time, the company employed 53 men in the shop, 11 men and 2 ladies to do the office work. Arthur Paulin said, "I love what I do, but what makes my heart feel good is that I am able to give 66 people jobs during the depression!" (Documents with Paulin's family) Bad times ahead - People and there mothers got on the bandwagon and tried to recreate the Whiffle Board. A Chicago game manufacturers began producing copies of the game, and that the 'generic name' for these machines eventually became "Pinball Game". 'Ballyhoo and Bingo were the biggest to try to stake claim as the inventors of the first coins devise board games'. A company in North Carolina actually started coping WHIFFLE, and went so far as to put Automatic Industries on them. It got so bad that racketeers got involved with the games business and that they would often smash up other operator's games on location and put their own games in their place.

Froom said, "The problem got so bad that many places tried to pass laws banning pinball games which often resulted in court decisions against the games business. Then came the court battles - Paulin, Froom, and Park went to court to try to stop others from infringing on Automatic Industries patents. The court battle lasted for many years! In 1937 a Federal Judge ruled that their patents were not strong enough to win. This was a bitter defeat for the men after all those years. It is to be believed that Earl W. Froom was the inventor of the Whiffle Board. He was not! He created the coin device for the Whiffle Board, and a partner of Automatic Industries. It was reported to the Paulin family that after Paulin's death in 1947, Earl Froom claimed that he was the inventor. Whiffle Board / Pinball invented by : Arthur L. Paulin Coin device by : Earl W.

Froom - SOURCES - Story written by Arthur Paulin's daughter Lois Paulin Hollerman age 82, and Granddaughter Karen Hollerman Kettering; January 4th 2009 I hope you enjoyed the real story about the Whiffle Board and hope you will share this story on your web site, and all the Pinball lovers out there!!! Take care and keep on playing, Karen PS I kinda laughed that you said the Whiffle Board didn't catch on. My grandfather retired a millionaire. Ballyhoo Pinball Machine "Whiffle Board", Automatic Ind., circa 1931 The Whiffle Board is a Pre-Flipper design - Cost 5 cents per play The game was an instant hit in the Depression-era United States, providing cheap entertainment for the unemployed masses - and a quick coin-grabbing business for some shady business operators. Ballyhoo (1931) Ballyhoo Pinball was the first pinball game ever made and was built by Raymond Maloney in 1931. Raymond Maloney later founded the Bally manufacturing company of Chicago, IL.

Raymond Maloney borrowed the Ballyhoo Pinball Title from the then famous Magazine, "Ballyhoo". Ballyhoo Magazine (1931-1939) - Who's name was lended to the Ballyhoo Pinball Title A humor magazine published by Dell. August (1931) thru February (1939) which gave rise to the first pinball game, Ballyhoo in (1931) The Ballyhoo humor magazine had a general tone of each magazine as a characterization of the New Masses with its absurd predictions of imminent revolution. "Editorial, 'How Long Shall We Stand For It?'" The first issue of Ballyhoo Magazine, Aug. 1931. "Whither? What Next? The crisis? The People? Good times? What Next? Blah, blah, blah, blah..." The extended Zilch family runs the magazine. The term pinball was not coined until 1936 when it was noticed that the ball was manipulated by pins on the playing field much like the Pachinko machines that had many pins and holes in the playfield.

There are many skills to learn to master pinball and here are some tips for ball control. link The object of the game was still to get a plunger-launched ball into the desired hole on the playing surface. The Plunger is the object used to launch a ball onto the playfield. It was now allowed to nudge the pinball game which is at waist-height. Standing players were able to "nudge" the machine to change the ball's trajectory. This nudge was an important part of the game because you could now change how the game played by how much you shook the game without shaking it so much that the game would tilt and you would lose your ball or possible your game. You don't want to Drain the ball. Drain � Where lost balls exit the playfield. The Apron is the material/item at the very bottom of the playfield, which usually holds a score and/or instruction card and which covers the ball trough. The front edges of the apron lead the ball to the drain. The Outlanes are the outside lanes that usually are placed to the far sides at the bottom of the playfield and lead to a drain.

Ball Kickers: Link In 1933 Harry Williams created the first battery-powered, solenoid-driven, ball kicker, giving pinball machines the ability to automously power on its own to kick the ball back up the playfield. A preview of things to come with Pinball... A Game of Skill... A 1962 Gottlieb Pinball Game. With the addition of electricity, playfield lights and electric bells became a regular features in 1934. The addition of sound and light made the machines not only more fun to play. No longer did a ball have to physically strike a bell. Electric bells, buzzers, and chimes would add sophisticated sound to the games and make them more exciting. Lights and electric powered sound were two of the most basic components of the pinball game. gottlieb's, "Pin-up", Pinball (1975) Then in 1936, Bally Manufacturing Company created the Bumper and electric scoring. The Bally "Bumper" pinball machine was now in all types of pinball games.

The bumper made is physically possible for the ball to be propelled rapidly from one bumper to the next by rapidly bouncing from one spring bumper to the next because of a electronic coiled spring mechanism giving force to the spring action. The triggered switch was connected to the first electric scoring circuitry called a "totalizer." Depending on how many bumpers were hit, lights could be triggered on to illuminate a previously unseen score that was painted behind translucent glass. the Totalizer was there to add up how many times the bumpers had been hit! Gottlieb's, "Happy Days", Pinball (1934) In 1934, the tilt mechanism was devised so players could not cheat the game and play forever by disturbing the entire playfield. There are two tilt sensors in the newest technology. The standard movement tilt and the slam tilt. Slam tilts are made to stop major cheating like slamming the game on the ground. There is a tilt warning given the metal pendulum rod inside the pinball game touches the metal ring. Major abuse of the tilt mechanism will cause a forfeiture of your pinball game. The specter of gambling hung heavily over the pinball industry, which was widely suspected of being a front for organized crime.

So serious was the threat that on January 21, 1942 a blanket ban on the game was imposed in New York City. January 21, 1942 - Pinball Becomes Illegal in New York City Pinball was banned in New York City because it was viewed as a game of luck rather than a game of skill (Gambling games are illegal in New York City) Bally's, "Evil Knievel" Pinball Flyer (1976) Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia smashed a number of machines The ban lasted until 1976. Free games (replays, matches, etc.) Continue to be illegal in New York City to this day, although the law goes unenforced. The Add-A-Ball feature was added: A feature designed to provide a reward to the player in regions where replays (free games) were outlawed as a thing of value, making pinball into gambling.

Add-A-Ball games allow the player to be awarded multiple additional balls, and usually include a counter showing balls remaining to play Lever-operated flippers introduced the element of skill that was lacking in previous incarnations - a useful counter-argument to politicians and moralizers who claimed pinball was a front for gambling. Humpty Dumpty Flyer First Pinball Flipper Game Humpty Dumpty Pinball (1947) 1947 The fist game to use flippers was Humpty Dumpty, by Gottlieb. It was invented by Harry Mabs and had six side flippers of which three were on each side. Notice that the flippers are backwards and very small in size. It was not until 1970 that the flippers became as large as they are today. The longer 3 inch flippers are what we use today except when it comes to some skill shot flippers set up near the middle of the playing field like in the Addams family, a three flipper game. The ten year period of 1948-58 is referred to by some as the "Golden Age" of pinball, due to the invention of flippers in 1947.

Spot bowler backglass (1950) The black glass is the glass within the front of the backbox, with ink artwork silk-screened onto the back of it. The Backbox is the upright part of a pinball machine that holds the backglass and any displays and scoring mechanisms. Spot Bowler Pinball (1950) Notice the wooden side rails and all wood paneling which are not seen in today's pinball games. Woodrail is a term referring to games manufactured prior to around 1961 that used wood to frame the playfield. The first game that had the flippers set at the bottom of the playfield as we see them today is probably Spot Bowler, a 1950 Gottleib game. Steve Kordek designing the playfield for the 1948 Genco game "Triple Action", in which he had put flippers at the bottom of the playfield. These early flippers operated in the reverse direction of those used now and one button could operate both flippers. The flippers could not be held up by continuously pressing the flipper button as they are today.

Vagabond Backglass (1962) Vagabond Pinball Playfield (1962) 1962 Drop targets, were introduced in the 1962 pinball game, Williams' Vagabond. The target which is located straight up the middle and towards the top of the play field. Hitting the hobo drop target for an extra ball never gets old. A Drop Target is a type of standup target that is dropped into or below the playfield when hit. Mr. Kordek put in the first simultaneous multiple balls play, "multiball" on the playfield (William's Beat The Clock, 1963), and the drop target (William's Vagabond, 1963). 1976 Pinball is a game of skill and deemed (Not Gambling) - Testifying before the New York City Council at a hearing on pinball in April 1976, Sharpe, then a 27-year-old magazine editor in Manhattan, played three balls on a Gottlieb Bankshot, explaining to his audience as he played how pinball was a game of skill, not of chance.

Sharpe tells what happened next: "'Even down to this plunger,' I told them, 'there's skill. If I pull this back the right way, I should be able to send the ball into the middle slot.' I actually specified a lane, which, in retrospect, I probably should not have done. I pulled back the plunger, and wouldn't you know, boom boom, it went straight down where I had said [it would go]. These people kind of threw up their hands and said, 'All right. Enough. Fine, thanks.'" The council reinstated pinball in New York City that summer. (Source: Cigar Aficiado). It was also in the mid 1970's that solid-state (or electronic) pinball machines were first introduced, starting yet another huge wave of public popularity due to new games innovations, features, Game reliability and cool design features like electronic scoring, alphanumeric scoring, electronic sounds and finally electronic speech, which lasted well into the late 1980's.

The Invention of the Autoplunger Many newer games feature an automatic plunger that launches the ball at the touch of a button, or which the game uses to launch additional balls into play for various reasons � for example, to launch additional balls onto the playfield for multiball. There is the Ball Saver which will return a drained ball withing the first few seconds of play is said to be equipped with a 'ball saver'. The ball is returned to the plunger. The automatic Ball Search is done when a machine has not seen any scoring in a few seconds and thinks the ball may be stuck, it will quickly activate each solenoid in the machine in turn, to help a ball become unstuck if it happens to be mechanically hung up, or in case the ball has been captured by a playfield mechanism with a faulty indicator switch. This procedure is called a 'ball search', and may happen several times before the game either shuts down or ejects a replacement pinball. Haunted House (1982) Design Team Haunted House (1982) 1982 - Gottliebs 1982 Haunted House " winning the award with a total of eight flippers.

Haunted House was also the first game to have with three playing fields (an upper and lower field in addition to the main playing field) and the first vertical ball 'upkicker", invented by John Osborne. Revenge From Mars and Star Wars games was the attempt by Williams manufacturing to merge video games and pinball formats together. In the late 1980's Williams and Bally merged to become the dominant player in the pinball market. Their big hits: Medieval Madness , Cirqus Voltaire , Twilight Zone , Theatre Of Magic , Monster Bash , Scared Stiff , Tales Of The Arabian Nights They later folded with only one player left in the industry. Stern Pinball is the only pinball manufacturer that could stay in business after the great demise of pinball games after the strong presence of video games. With one exceptional game that outplays the rest link Just for fun I asked Jim Belsito , top pinball player in the world, how much skill versus luck there is in pinball. His Reply was 70% Skill, and 30% luck! Thanks, Paul Dean Jackpot!

Chicago’s Hold On Pinball Industry And Artistry | WBEZ Previous Next Ever since Kevin Schramer started playing pinball in the 1970's, he noticed that many machines listed their manufacturing addresses in the Chicago region. The addresses have kept him wondering for decades, so when he learned about Curious City, he just had to ask: More content below this sponsor message Why was the Chicago area home to all the major pinball manufacturers during the heyday of pinball? After digging into relevant history books, interviewing industry experts, and emptying plenty of change into the area’s remaining pinball machines , we can firmly say that Kevin’s on to something: From the modern pinball industry’s Depression-era beginnings, to its modest market presence today, Chicago has been pinball’s center of gravity. (The Internet Pinball Database lists 554 top-rated pinball machines and at least 98 percent of them were made in the region.) But the answer as to why involves an interplay of history, geography and art. Insert coin: Gottlieb and Williams To say Chicago was the hub of the pinball industry isn’t to say that the game was invented in the Windy City.

Historians trace early pinball machines to a centuries-old French billiard game called bagatelle, while the modern coin-operated pinball industry got its start in the early 1930s. During the Great Depression, many people were “out of work, looking for inexpensive entertainment for a penny,” explains pinball historian Roger Sharpe. Enterprising tinkerers and businessmen began to fill that need with simple countertop games. In these early days, many of the industry’s key players were travelling businessmen such as David Gottlieb, whose machine Baffle Ball was one of pinball’s first big hits. Baffle Ball was a simple game. There were no flippers, lights, or bells; you just pulled the plunger back and hoped that the ball bounced into the right hole. Gottlieb moved throughout the Midwest to sell his machines, but his operation was based in Chicago. Many of pinball's now-familiar qualities, such as replays and tilt mechanisms, were considered whiz-bang when they were first developed by engineer Harry Williams in the 1930’s.

Williams got his start in California, pranking his business partners by adding electricity to his machines and connecting the games to telephones; in some cases, the right shot would make the phone ring. Once the ringing machines proved to draw more money than their silent counterparts, machines with sound-making elements became the norm. While Williams tried working from California for a while, he eventually decided that he would need Chicago's competitive edge if he wanted to make a name for himself in the pinball industry. "It took too long for his games to get to the East Coast and by the time it got to the East Coast other people had already knocked it off," says Sharpe. Baffle Ball and Ballywho were two of pinball’s earliest successes. The machines were flipper-less, but brought in a stream of pennies anyway. (Flickr/Rob Dicaterino) Chicago had a lot to offer the budding industry. Raw materials were widely available, including lumber and wiring, as well as steel from nearby Gary, Ind. The city's large immigrant population became the basis of the factories' work force.

Once the machines were finished, the city's railroads made them easy to distribute across the country, and Lake Michigan's ports allowed the machines to be sent around the world as pinball found a market overseas. David Gottlieb and Harry Williams founded some of the industry’s most successful companies in Chicago, and named the firms after themselves. Multiball! Artistry in the industry’s heyday Through the decades, the pinball industry had its highs and lows. From the 1940s through most of the 1970s pinball was officially banned as illegal gambling in many of the nation’s big cities, including New York City and Chicago. (Roger Sharpe, our historical guide, played an instrumental role in overturning the bans with a skill shot that became the stuff of pinball legend.) Although the bans were lightly enforced, they kept the industry from achieving its full potential. Then, in the mid-1970s, the bans were lifted, and The Who’s pinball rock opera Tommy was made into a major motion picture. At this point, pinball found a place in the mainstream culture, and the industry entered into a full-blown heyday.

As the industry thrived, the graphic artists who designed the backglasses and the playfields developed a detail-rich pinball aesthetic. While Chicago has many important cultural contributions, it has a unique monopoly on pinball art. The art blended the bawdy imagery of Playboy magazine (based in Chicago at the time) with the garish colors of Riverview amusement park ; before it was closed in 1967, Riverview had shared the same neighborhood as many pinball manufacturers. Even Chicago’s weather made it on to some machines. Greg Freres, celebrated pinball artist, worked on the Harlem Globetrotters machine during the notorious winter of 1979 — one of the city’s worst . Freres included a splotch of white paint next to Lake Michigan in honor of Chicago’s snow on the Globetrotters’ globe. While the industry lost some ground to video game machines through the 80s, it continued to be successful. The most popular pinball machine of all time, for example, was The Addam’s Family; it wasn’t released until 1992. By the close of the decade, however, pinball was in a verifiable slump.

WMS, the corporate successor to the company founded by desinger Harry Williams, lost $4 million on its pinball division in 1998 alone. The company gave its pinball team one last shot to reinvigorate pinball. The team developed Pinball 2000, a hybrid of video games and pinball featuring holographic aliens. Despite the machine’s relative success and a promo video complete with kooky narration from Chicago radio legend Ken Nordine, the corporate bosses at WMS shut down their pinball division to focus on growing profits in the slot machine industry. By the dawn of the 21st century, only one manufacturer of pinball machines remained in Chicago, and the world. Extra game? Pinball Perseveres But pinball didn’t end there. That last company, Stern Pinball, continues to develop and manufacture pinball machines in west suburban Melrose Park. (A New Jersey-based company just released a Wizard of Oz pinball machine, but Stern is the only company that regularly releases new machines and distributes them widely.) Company CEO Gary Stern has been in the pinball industry since he was a small child accompanying his father, a business partner of Harry Williams, on factory visits.

While the access to materials, labor, and distribution that made Chicago an ideal location for pinball’s beginnings remain, Stern says another element is keeping the surviving industry here. “We’re here, because we’re here,” Stern puts it plainly. That is, a community of pinball designers, engineers, and specialists live in the Chicago area, and many of them remain dedicated to the pinball craft. Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern poses with question-asker Kevin Schramer and some of his company’s machines. Stern has worked in the pinball industry for more than 50 years. (WBEZ/Mickey Capper) Jim Shird is one of those specialists working at Stern. He has designed the wiring in pinball machines since the 1990s and has been playing pinball since he was a kid, when he would win free pizzas every week from a local pizza place’s pinball competition. Pinball’s popularity has diminished to the point where it’s most visible in the shadowy corners of dive bars. But still, Shird remains optimistic.

These days, when he finishes work at Stern, he heads straight to Logan Arcade , one of Chicago’s many new arcade bars, to maintain (and play) the bar’s pinball collection. He is, after all, a pinball person and he gets to spend his life with pinball machines. “Everyday is different, everyday is interesting, everyday is an adventure, and everyday is fun,” Shird says with a smile. “I get to play pinball everyday.” (Want to play pinball? This map includes all Chicago area venues with 3 or more pinball machines. More information is available at PinballMap.com .) Our question comes from: Kevin Schramer Kevin Schramer plays his pinball machines with his family. Kevin’s question began this investigation. (WBEZ/Mickey Capper) This story about Chicago pinball begins with our “Player 1,” Kevin Schramer. Kevin says he’s loved the colors and sounds of pinball since he was a kid in the 1970s. He first saw pinball at Funway, a family entertainment center in west suburban Batavia. “If you had a pocket full of quarters you were all set,” Kevin remembers.

Today, Kevin no longer needs quarters; he has a row of four vintage pinball machines in the dining room of his home in Winfield, Ill. His family plays the machines too, and he is currently in the midst of an extended battle with his sons over his machines' high scores. Mickey Capper is a freelance audio producer. Follow him @FMcapper Pinball Machine History - ARCADE UNBELIEVABLE.COM ARCADE UNBELIEVABLE.COM The History of Pinball Machines and Pintables The Birth Of Pinball : 1800s - 1900 The "ancestor" of all pinball machines is acknowledged to be the 19th century "Bagatelle-Table", a sort of hybrid between a "pin table" and pool table. Players tried to hit balls with cue sticks and get them into pockets or slots surrounded by nails and pins. Another step towards the modern pinball form occurred sometime at the end of 19th century, when inventor Montague Redgrave patented a device called a "ball shooter", which was based on the recently invented steel spring.

"Ball-Shooter" Drawing, Circa 1830's Games similar to this pictured below were first popular in bars and cafes in France and America, but they were not coin operated - Players first exchanged money for balls to play with, then if players obtained a high enough score, they would be awarded free drinks, meals and or cigarettes. Soon after came the introduction of the first coin-operated Bagatelle and "Bingo" pin tables. Bagatelle Table Ad Bingo Pinball Ad Pinball - The Early Years : 1930s - 1950s The first coin-operated "pinball machine" was invented in 1931 by Automatic Industries and was called "Whiffle Board". But the gaming industry really began in the mid 1930's with the production of a game called "Ballyhoo". It was invented by one Raymond Maloney, who later started the Bally Manufacturing Company of Chicago, IL.

"Whiffle Board", Automatic Ind., circa 1931 "Ballyhoo", Bally Mfg, circa 1934 The pinball machines of this era had wooden legs and wooden rails on the sides of the machine, not like today's modern marvels of chrome and steel. "Ballyhoo" Ad, Circa 1934 It is thought the term "pinball" came into play at this time most likely due to the fact that the all the machines of this era had many holes and pins in them. In 1933, electricity was first introduced to pinball by adding a battery to the machine and in 1934, the first automatic scoring mechanism would appear in the form of a "clock" counter, as well as the first "sounds" in a pinball machine by way of electromechanical chimes, bells and buzzers. The popularity of the pinball machine rose dramatically during the mid to late 1930's in part due to the Depression and the need for low-cost entertainment for the masses.

Since many pinball operators in the 1930's gave away prizes based on high scores, some players tried to cheat by shaking and lifting the game, so in 1935, the "tilt" mechanism (a control that determine how hard a pinball machine can be "shaked") was thought up by Harry Williams, founder of the famous Williams Manufacturing Company, in response to players learning how to control the game to their advantage. Modern day pinball machines employ two such "tilt devices", one that measures the movement of the game side to side, and another called the "slam tilt" that is used to movement up and down and prevents such acts as "slamming" your hand into the machine or trying to drop the machine. The "slam tilt" consists of a couple of "leaf switches" that detect a slam when they touch each other, while the "movement tilt" uses a pendulum and bob device that freely hangs inside a metal detection ring. A tilt warning occurs when either the leaf switches meet or if the free-swinging pendulum rod touches the metal ring. Most modern machines give one to three warnings (user adjustable) before ending the game.

Also in 1935, the first "backglass" appears with lighted scoring. As more features were added, pinball machines are then outfitted with electrical transformers so they could be plugged into standard 110V electrical outlets; with that advance, in 1937, the first "coil bumpers" were introduced on Bally's "Bumper" pinball machine. In 1939, "disc bumpers" are then introduced to the game. Pinball From The 50's to the 90's Pinball machines really grew in popularity after World War II. The ten year period of 1948-58 is referred to by some as the "Golden Age" of pinball, due to the invention of flippers in 1947 by the D. Gottlieb Co. in a game called "Humpty Dumpty", and was one of the main reasons for the renewed interest in pinballs at the time.

"Humpty Dumpty" Gottlieb, circa 1947 "Humpty Dumpty" Sales Flyer, circa 1947 In 1948, a firm called Genco placed one set of flippers at the very bottom of the playfield in a machine called "Triple Action" - But the setup was still a little unusual by today's standards; the flippers were facing outwards, not inwards like today's models. See the picture below: "Triple Action", Genco Mfg., circa 1948 The first game that had a modern flipper arrangement was the "Spot Bowler", a 1950's D. Gottlieb Co. machine. Take a look at the picture below if you have not seen any of these games - you will be surprised at the smaller size and position of the flippers - it was not until the mid 70's that most pinball machines adopted the longer 3 inch flippers we play with on today's modern machines. "Spot Bowler" Playfield, D. Gottlieb, circa 1950 "Spot Bowler" Ad, D.

Gottlieb, circa 1950 It was also in the mid 70's that solid-state (or electronic) pinball machines were first introduced, starting yet another huge wave of public popularity due to new games innovations, features, Game reliability and cool design features like electronic scoring, alphanumeric scoring, electronic sounds and finally electronic speech, which lasted well into the late 80's. "Spirit Of 76" Ad, Micro Games, circa 1975 "Joker Poker", D.

Gottlieb, circa 1978 The late 80's saw Williams and Bally merge to become the dominant player in the market, and in the 90's they both produced some of the most amazing pinball machines concepts ever dreamed of like Medieval Madness, Cirqus Voltaire, Twilight Zone, Theatre Of Magic, Monster Bash, Scared Stiff, Tales Of The Arabian Nights and the most popular pinball machine in modern history, Addams Family (with over 20,000 produced), along with many other modern-day collectible classics, and finally the last pinball machines of the golden era of pinball manufacturers, Cactus Canyon and the "Pinball 2000" machines, which combined video movies over standard pinball action.

"Virtual Pinball", TAB Austria, 2002 "Ultrapin" Digital Pinball, Global VR, 2006 Pinball has now become a "in" item with high-profile celebrities, baby boomers, business exec's & families, and has become a fixture on many TV shows and commercials, movie sets and many magazine shoots, perhaps due to the "nostalgia factor" and the advent of personal home game rooms, or realization that a individual can now easily purchase a pinball machine, or the fact that playing a few good games of pinball after a hard day's work can be a tremendous stress-reliever! Coke commercial with David Arquette shown playing one of three classic pinballs in his actual home collection in the foreground. In 2009, the industry is left with just one major designer and manufacturer, Stern Pinball, based in the Chicagoland area and run by Gary Stern, the son of Stern Electronics' founder Sam Stern. Stern has released quite a few interesting and collectable titles over the past few years, and hopefully will continue on in the tradition of great firms like Williams and Bally on future releases.

"Indiana Jones", Stern Pinball, 2008 Stern Pinball's ratio of "home sales" to commercial sales has risen from practically zero to an estimated 35% - 60% of their total sales in just the last 3 years, which is an encouraging new market for them to sell into in the coming years as operator and commercial account orders continue to dwindle. There have been some rumblings of other firms within the coin-op industry having aspirations of jumping into the pinball machine game, but nothing seriously has been reported or announced to date. It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for pinball over the course of the next century... However, in late 2008, Stern announced, for the first time in its history, a major layoff of many in-house pinball designers, engineers and technical staff, due to declining sales because of the current economic climate, which questions the future of Stern Pinball, and new pinball machines in doubt - So it you want to purchase a new pinball machine, buy one as soon as possible, because we predict that if Stern actually goes out of business, the price of all remaining pinball machines will skyrocket after the economy improves.

As for the state of used or "pre-owned" machines, supplies are very tight and getting tighter, with ASP (average selling price) of good quality of pre-owned pinball machine of popular titles from the late 80's to 90's now appreciating at a rate of 10% - 25 % or more per year, even in this economic climate, as more and more individuals discover (or re-discover) the pleasures of pinball ownership and supplies dry up. Just a few years ago, America had all the machines it ever needed to meet domestic supply; but now it is estimated that over 60 % of all preowned pinball machines now sold in the US come from overseas sources in countries such as Western Europe and Latin America, due to the increasingly high demand from Americans, even now. Surprising Pinball Facts: Did you know that it was illegal to own a pinball machine in New York and other states at one point in time?

Pinball machines were officially banned in New York by Mayor LaGuardia on January 21, 1942 because the administration viewed the game as a "game of luck" rather than a "game of skill", hence making a pinball machine a gambling device (in their eyes). To celebrate the new ban, Mayor LaGuardia proceeded to smash a large number of pinball machines directly in front of large crowd of welcoming onlookers! From the Las Vegas Mercury Newspaper, Thursday, March 28, 2002 - "In their earliest incarnations, some pin games (so named for the pins that dotted the playfield, guiding the ball into holes with point values) such as Bally's 1933 Rocket offered cash payouts to the player if he landed the ball in certain holes. It wasn't unusual to see such games taking their place next to conventional slot machines. The advent of payout machines, versus nonpaying "novelty" machines manufactured by many of the same companies, raised some sticky questions about this new form of entertainment: Was pinball a game of skill or luck?

The answer would mean the difference between a harmless game and a form of gambling- even if the "payout" was a free game. Some states decided the latter and banned pinball machines. In January 1942, for instance, New York Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia banned pinball as a form of gambling, smashing several machines in a publicity stunt. Also, the passage of the Johnson Act in 1950 outlawed interstate shipping of certain types of pinball machines, as they were deemed gambling devices. Pinball manufacturers such as Williams and Gottlieb responded by mounting a campaign of their own under the aegis of the Coin Machine Institute; these pinball makers eliminated payout machines and sought to show that pinball was a wholesome pastime that had no connection to gambling--especially with the advent of flippers in 1947, which turned pinball, more than ever, into a game of skill.

Still, the ban in New York lasted until 1976; free games in the form of awarded replays are still illegal in New York and in other cities, though the laws are rarely enforced." Modern Pinball History Timeline 1951 - The first "slingshot" kickers were introduced. 1953 - The first two-player pinball machine is released. (pinball machines before this were strictly one player affairs) 1954 - The first multiple player pinball machine, "Super Jumbo", is released by D.Gottlieb. 1956 - The first "multiball" feature is featured on Bally's " Balls-A-Poppin " pinball machine 1957 - The first use of a "match" bonus feature (a number in your final score is matched at random to a number the machine picks, resulting in a free game, or "credit") in pinball is introduced. 1960 - The first "add-a-ball" (extra ball) game called " Flipper " is developed by D. Gottlieb.

The add-a-ball award was developed to counter various laws in effect during this period that made it illegal for a game to award replays in certain parts of the country because it was consider a "gambling" activity. 1962 - The first drop target was introduced by Williams Manufacturing in the " Vagabond " pinball machine. 1963 - The first "spinners" were introduced. 1964 - The first "mushroom" bumper (common in all of today's modern games) was introduced by Bally 1966 - The first digital scoring pinball machine, "Rally Girl" is produced by a French company called Rally. 1968 - The first modern flippers (three inches) are introduced on Hayburners II by Williams 1975 - The first solid-state, or electronic pinball machine, " Spirit of 76 ", was first introduced by Micro. It marks the beginning of the switch from electromechanical (EM) machines to "solid-state", or electronics-based pinball machines. 1976 - The first widely available solid state pinball machine was introduced by Bally and is called "Freedom".

Many of the games from the mid 70's were produced in two versions (both electronic and electromechanical), and the first "wide-body" pinball, "The Atarians" is introduced by Atari. Also in this year, the long-time pinball machine manufacturer, Chicago Coin, makes it last game - The company is taken over by Sam Stern and renamed "Stern Electronics". Gottlieb is sold to Colombia Pictures. 1977 - The first electronically produced sounds in a pinball machine were introduced. Also the first photographic backglass display is introduced by Bally on " Lost World " 1979 - The first "talking" or electronic speech game was introduced by Williams and was called "Gorgar", along with the first machines to have a continuous electronic background "soundtracks". This was also the year in which the very last electro- mechanical pinball machine is made by Gottlieb 1980 - The first "multi-level" pinball machine is produced by Williams as "Black Knight: 1984 - Colombia Pictures, owner of Gottlieb, decides to close. Company is taken over by Premier Technology.

1985 - The first "alphanumeric" game display is introduced 1986 - The first automatic replay percentage feature is introduced. Also the first pinball machine that uses a actual photo on the glass is introduced by Gottlieb on " Raven " 1987 - The first pinball machine with stereo sound ( Laser War ) is produced by Data-East. 1988 - Bally Manufacturing is taken over by Williams Electronics, but the two companies continue to produce separate lines of pinball machines under both names. 1990 - The first solid-state (electronic) flippers are introduced by Data-East . 1991 - The first "dot-matrix" game display is introduced by Data-East in " Checkpoint " along with video "modes" that animate certain parts of the game part on screen. Also in the year, electronic plungers become common and the "ball-saver" feature is introduced, in part due to laws in the UK (England) governing games of chance. 1994 - Sega buys out Data-East 1996 - Gottlieb goes out of business for good.

1998 - The first pinball machine with a video screen integrated into the design is introduced by Williams in their new " Pinball 2000 " series machines. 1999 - After just two Pinball 2000 releases, Williams Manufacturing (WMS) exits the pinball machine business for good, but continues on as a maker of gaming devices for the global gambling industry. Also in this year, Gary Stern buys Sega Pinball, renames the combined firms Stern Pinball and continues on as the only pinball producer in the world today (as of early 2004). 2002 - A prototype of the first truly digital pinball machine, Virtual Pinball, is introduced at the 2002 IAAPA Amusement Show in Orlando by TAB Austria , and comes with a a flat panel monitor replicating the playfield and housed in a non-standard cabinet.

2006 - The first digital video pinball machine that replicates the look, play and feel of a traditional pinball machine, UltraPin , is introduced by GlobalVR , and features twelve re-created classic pinball machine playfields from Funhouse, Eight Ball, Pin-Bot, Medieval Madness, Black Knight 2000, Attack from Mars, F-14 Tomcat, Fathom, Firepower, Strikes and Spares, Sorcerer and Xenon all in one unit.

Question: In which city was the pinball machine invented?
Answer: Chicago